Faculty Survey Results 2001 and 2006
Executive Summary
2001:
2006:
Surveys sent = 348
Surveys sent = 534
Response = 151
Response = 346
Return rate = 43.4%
Return rate = 64.8%
1: Are you in favor of SFA joining a system?
Answer
Yes/Probably Yes:
No/Probably No:
No opinion:
% 2001
49.6%
25.6%
23.2%
%2006
52%
28.1%
19.9%
2: Which system would best serve SFA?
System
U Texas:
Texas A&M
Texas Tech
Texas State
U Houston
U North Texas
2001
#
%
25
16.6
20
13.5
40
26.5
31
20.5
4
2.7
5
3.3
2006
#
%
15
12.1
34
19.7
69
39.9
27
15.6
4
2.3
*
*
*None indicated in 2006, but may be other category that did not pull out U North Texas.
Spring 2001 Survey of Tenure/Tenure-track faculty asking if
SFA should join a system
Surveys mailed= 348
N = 151
Return rate = 43.4%
1: Are you in favor of SFA joining a system?
Yes/Probably Yes:
No/Probably No:
No opinion:
49.6%
25.6%
23.2%
2: Which system would best serve SFA? (note: some respondents endorsed more
than 1 option; N = 143).
System
UTexas:
Texas A&M
Texas Tech
Texas State
U Houston
UN Texas
#
25
20
40
31
4
5
%
16.6
13.5
26.5
20.5
2.7
3.3
3: Please provide your opinion regarding the following statements.
Salaries will increase relative to other
institutions
Salaries will continue to improve across time
Funds for travel will improve
Research funding will improve
Enrollment will increase initially
Enrollment will increase across time
Admission standards will improve
SFA will lose instructional programs
Athletics will suffer
Agree %
51.0%
Disagree %
18.5%
No opinion %
26.5%
47.0%
35.1%
43.1%
28.5%
47.7%
49.0%
50.3%
17.9%
19.2%
26.5%
25.8%
33.1%
24.5%
20.5%
24.5%
35.8%
30.5%
33.8%
27.2%
34.4%
23.8%
25.8%
21.9%
43.1%
Spring 2006 Survey of SFA faculty asking if SFA should join a
system
Response: 346 Sent out: 534 Response rate: 64.8%
Some faculty skipped questions throughout the survey, resulting in inconsistent total
responses across questions
1: Do you hold a degree or degrees from a school in Texas?
Answer
Yes
No
Number
201
140
%
58.9
41.1
2: Which school(s) ?
School
Abilene Christian
Angelo State
Baylor
Dallas Baptist
East Texas Baptist
Lamar
Sam Houston
S. Texas College of Law
Southern Methodist
SW Baptist Theo. Sem.
SFA
Sul Ross
Texas A&M
Texas A&M-Commerce
Texas A&M-Kingsville
Texas Christian
Number
2
3
5
1
1
3
6
2
4
1
94
1
29
5
1
6
%
1
1.5
2.5
0.5
0.5
1.5
2.9
1
2
0.5
46.1
1
14.2
2.5
0.5
2.9
School
Texas Lutheran
Texas State
Texas Tech
Texas Woman’s
UT-Arlington
UT-Austin
UT-Dallas
UT-Tyler
UT-Health Sci. Center
UT-Medical Branch
UT-Permian Basin
Trinity
U H- University Park
U North Texas
West Texas A&M
Other
Number
1
5
12
12
4
25
4
4
1
7
2
2
9
23
3
9
%
0.5
2.5
5.9
5.9
2
12.3
2
2
0.5
3.4
1
1
4.4
11.3
1.5
4.4
3: Where are you employed at SFA?
College
Number
Number
Responses
in College*
36
Applied Arts and Science 28
42
59
Business
59
114
Education
39
60
Fine Arts
29
Forestry and Agriculture 25
58
97
Liberal Arts
Science and Mathematics 63
63
21
24
Steen Library
2
Other
7
Skipped
346
Total
* Includes adjuncts teaching at least 6 credit hours.
% of total
Responses
8.3
12.5
17.5
11.6
7.4
17.2
18.7
6.2
2
9
% Responses
in college
78
72
52
65
86
60
100
88
4: What is your rank?
Rank
Number of
% of response Number in
% in rank
Responses
total
Rank
142
63
Professor
90
26.9
63
18.8
83
76
Associate Professor
83
24.8
139
60
Assistant Professor
30
9.0
33
91
Instructor
22
6.6
?
?
Lecturer
17
5.1
17
Librarian
100
30
9.0
16
Adjunct/Other
193*
11
Skipped
346
Total
* Includes all adjunct, not just those teaching above 6 credit hours
5: Please provide your opinion regarding the following statements.
323 responses to standard questions below. Numbers in ( ) represent actual
responses.
Salaries will improve
Fringe benefits, travel
funds will improve
Research funding
will improve
Enrollment will initially
increase
Enrollment will increase
over time
Admission standards
will improve
SFA could lose some
instructional programs
Athletics will benefit
SFA will be a better place
to work
SFA would have more
say in directing its future
Faculty would have more
freedom to pursue
research topics than now
Easier to implement new
academic programs
Strongly
Disagree
3% (9)
3% (10)
Disagree
13% (41)
15% (47)
No
Opinion
20% (66)
28% (90)
45% (146)
42% (135)
Strongly
Agree
19% (61)
13% (41)
2% (5)
12% (40)
20% (66)
48% (154)
18% (58)
2% (6)
17% (56)
37% (120)
32% (104)
11% (36)
1% (4)
11% (35)
31% (99)
44% (141)
13% (41)
2% (6)
13% (42)
28% (90)
43% (139)
14% (45)
4% (13)
16% (51)
27% (86)
46% (147)
8% (26)
5% (15)
6% (19)
16% (53)
18% (58)
56% (180)
31% (97)
19% (61)
25% (81)
4% (14)
20% (63)
19% (61)
36% (117)
22% (71)
14% (46)
8% (26)
4% (13)
12% (40)
25% (81)
40% (130)
18% (24)
10% (33)
29% (92)
36% (116)
17% (55)
8% (24)
6: Do you have personal experience as faculty in a Texas system?
Yes: 42 (12.4%)
No: 297 (87.6%)
7: In which system?
System
Texas A&M University
Texas State University
Texas Tech University
University of Texas
University of Houston
Other
%
22.7
18.2
6.8
31.8
4.5
15.9
Number
10
8
3
14
2
7
Agree
8: Should SFA join a system?
Category
Overall
Total #
336
Yes
52% (170)
No
28.1% (92)
No opinion
19.9% (65)
SFA Graduate
86
43% (37)
32.6% (28)
24.4% (21)
Work Experience
Worked at UT
Worked at TX Tech
Worked at TX State
Worked at TX A&M
13
3
8
9
84.6% (11)
100% (3)
37.5% (3)
100% (9)
15.4% (2)
0
62.5% (5)
0
0
0
0
0
Rank at SFA
Professor
Associate Professor
Assistant Professor
Librarians
Instructors
Clinical Instructors
Lecturer
Adjunct
89
62
80
15
19
9
21
12
61.8% (55)
66.1% (41)
48.8% (39)
40% (6)
36.8% (7)
44.4% (4)
28.6% (6)
58.3% (7)
27% (24)
16.1% (10)
28.8% (23)
13.3% (2)
42.1% (8)
33.3% (3)
47.6% (10)
33.3% (4)
11.2% (10)
17.7% (11)
22.5% (18)
46.7% (7)
21.1% (4)
22.2% (2)
23.8% (5)
8.3% (1)
26
42.3% (11)
42.3% (11)
15.4% (4)
39
58
38
24
55
62
20
69.2% (27)
34.4% (20)
39.5% (15)
58.3% (14)
72.7% (40)
58.1% (36)
35% (7)
7.7% (3)
39.7% (23)
39.5% (15)
16.7% (4)
21.8% (12)
29% (18)
15% (3)
23.1% (9)
25.9% (15)
21.1% (8)
25% (6)
5.5% (3)
12.9% (8)
50% (10)
College at SFA
Applied Arts and
Sciences
Business
Education
Fine Arts
Forestry and Agriculture
Liberal Arts
Science and Math
Library
9: If yes, which system should SFA join? Any suggestions other than the systems
below are not listed. Counts of those who skipped this question are also not
included.
Category
Overall
Texas
A&M
19.7% (34)
SFA Graduate
12.1% (15)
Texas
Texas
Tech
State
39.9% (69) 15.6% (27)
8.7%
21.1% (8)
21.1% (8)
28.9% (11) 21.1% (8)
2.6%
Work Experience
Worked at UT
Worked at TX Tech
Worked at TX State
Worked at TX A&M
41.7% (5)
50% (1)
0
16.7% (1)
25% (3)
0
0
0
33.3% (4)
50% (1)
25% (1)
50% (3)
0
0
75% (3)
16.7% (1)
0
0
0
0
Rank at SFA
Professor
Associate Professor
Assistant Professor
Librarians
Instructors
Clinical Instructors
Lecturer
Adjunct
23.3% (13)
12.2% (5)
20% (8)
16.7% (1)
25% (2)
50% (2)
16.7% (1)
28.6% (2)
14.3% (8)
9.8% (4)
7.5% (3)
0
50% (4)
25% (2)
0
0
42.9% (24)
43.9% (18)
35% (14)
66.7% (4)
25% (2)
0
50% (3)
42.9% (3)
12.5% (7)
14.6% (6)
22.5% (9)
16.7% (1)
0
0
16.7% (1)
28.6% (2)
3.6%
9.8%
15%
0
0
25%
16.7%
0
45.5% (5)
0
27.3% (3)
27.3% (3)
0
39.3% (11)
4.8% (1)
0
7.1% (1)
7.1% (2)
19% (4)
43.8% (7)
0
17.9% (5)
42.9% (9)
31.2% (5)
92.9% (13)
14.3% (4)
19% (4)
6.2% (1)
0
10.7%
9.5%
12.5%
0
20% (8)
19.4% (7)
14.3% (1)
7.5% (3)
13.9% (5)
0
37.5% (15) 22.5% (9)
41.7% (15) 13.9% (5)
57.1% (4) 14.3% (1)
12.5%
8.3%
0
College at SFA
Applied Arts and
Sciences
Business
Education
Fine Arts
Forestry and
Agriculture
Liberal Arts
Science and Math
Library
U Texas
No Op.
10: Narrative Answers to Open-ended Questions on Survey
Three faculty members with professional training and expertise in analysis of qualitative
data individually identified common themes among the responses. They then met as a
group to reach agreement on the common themes.
Reasons to Join a System
We identified 11 themes related to reasons for joining a university system. A total of 141
faculty responded to the open-ended question on why SFA should join a system. These
141 faculty gave collectively 239 responses, yielding a total of 1.70 per faculty member.
The frequencies and percentages are listed in the table below in descending order. By
far, the most common response was the perception of mismanagement of the Board of
Regents. The second most common response was that joining a system would increase
salaries while another indicated that joining a system would provide SFA more money
generally. Other responses emphasized the presumed benefits of joining a system, which
included monetary benefits and social benefits such as more prestige.
Reasons for Joining a System
Item
Mismanagement of Board
Higher Salaries
More Money
Athletics
Better Recruiting
Better Management
Better Outlook/Vision
Greater Stature
Better Students
Better Faculty
Declining Trend
Total
Number of
Responses
64
32
25
24
20
19
16
15
14
8
2
239
Percentage of
Responses
N= 239
26.8%
13.4%
10.5%
10.0%
8.4%
7.9%
6.7%
6.3%
5.9%
3.3%
0.8%
100.0%
Percentage of
Responses
based on
Number of
Faculty
N= 141
45.3%
22.7%
17.7%
17.0%
14.2%
13.5%
11.4%
10.6%
10%
5.7%
1.0%
100%
Five randomly selected quotes are listed verbatim below to illustrate some types of
words, language, and sentiments noted among those favoring SFA joining a system.
“My primary reason for supporting SFA becoming part of a system is simply to
eliminate the micromanaging role of the Board of Regents. Their style of governance
is hindering progress in terms of technology and expansion of services. I also believe
that SFA could benefit in terms of increased enrollment numbers, positive PR, more
visibility, financial gain, etc. by becoming part of a collaborative system. At present,
SFA and Nacogdoches is akin to a close community. The unique aspects about SFA
and Nacogdoches are not viewed positive by outsiders, but rather barriers or
hindrances. It is my opinion that a term or system environment will help secure a
brighter future for SFA. As an alumnus, this issue is far more important than the
issue of losing the name SFA.”
“I have been on record as supporting SFA joining a system. I was quoted in length
about 5 years ago in an issue of the Daily Sentinel as supporting the joining of a
system. Largest problem SFA has is the continuous micro-management of a basically
incompetent board. I had a lot of personal experience with the development of the
A&M system at East Texas State. They were proactive in placing the university into
a system. From a practical matter SFA is probably going to be in a system at some
point in the future. It’s much better to be proactive about it rather than be drug
kicking and screaming into a system that would not be the best for SFA. I support
strongly SFA taking a proactive stance to join the Texas State University System. In
this system you can maintain your own identity. You get the benefits of a system
without losing your individuality, e.g., Sam Houston, Texas State (SWTSU), Lamar,
etc. The sooner the better. I definitely do not want SFA to become Texas A&M
University @ Nacogdoches.”
“I think the president and the faculty need more freedom to set the university’s
priorities. There have been some worthwhile improvements to the university over the
last few years, but our priorities have not been set wisely. Faculty salaries continue to
be an embarrassment, our library’s collections has been in a free-fall ever since I
came here and probably before.”
“More direction and leadership.”
“Faculty research and salary take a back seat to athletics and building cathedrals – it
doesn’t seem like the current board of regents priority is developing an academic
environment.”
Not Joining a System
Seventy faculty members wrote responses on why SFA should not join a university
system. Of these 70 faculty members, 108 responses were identified, yielding an average
of 1.54 responses per faculty member. A summary of the frequencies and percentages is
given below with themes listed in descending order of frequency. The most common
reason given for not joining a system was that SFA would lose autonomy and
independence if we joined a system. The next two reasons for not joining a system are
that SFA would be a small fish in a big pond and salaries for employees would not
increase.
Reasons Not To Join System
Item
Independence/Autonomy
Small Fish in Big Pond
Salary
Increase Bureaucracy
Tradition/Identity
Local Control
Teaching
Total
Number of
Responses
25
19
18
13
13
13
7
108
Percentage of
Responses
N=108
23.1%
17.6%
16.7%
12.0%
12.0%
12.0%
6.5%
100.0%
Percentage of
Responses
based on
Number of
Faculty
N= 70
35.7%
27.1%
25.7%
18.6%
18.6%
18.6%
10.0%
100.0%
Five randomly selected quotes are listed verbatim below to illustrate some types of
words, language, and sentiments noted among those favoring SFA joining a system.
“The autonomy issue is critical. As a small university, we may get lost in the shuffle of a
larger system.”
“To save dollars, more services like payroll and purchasing would be provided by parent
system which means calls to the central parent system rather than local contacts. There
would also be more polices that would have to be followed. If the system was one of the
major research institutions, we could expect more emphasis on research and less of a
focus on teaching. In the grants area, we could expect more emphasis upon research
grants rather than training grants because of the major differences in the indirect cost
formulas. I do not think we could expect the parent system to support us even during
“hard” times. I also think we would have sort of a “branch bank” status…not valued as
much as the lead institution, e.g., The University of Texas AT AUSTIN.”
“The more layers of bureaucracy present, the more cumbersome most activities and
actions on campus would become. We would probably have to call around to multiple
offices in different areas to solve simple problems. Paperwork would most likely become
more convoluted as multiple systems were merged and changed. SFASU would be less
unique. Did I mention more convoluted bureaucracy? More money would probably be
diverted to administration…elsewhere instead of with our current employee system.”
“Joining a system is no quick fix to the problems at SFA. More than likely after a year to
look over the campus, whatever system would clean house. That will not be the positive
house cleaning that everyone wants—programs and people will be deleted. A system is
no promise of more money at any level.”
“While SFA currently has a terrible Board of Regents (the new baseball complex), still,
self-governance is generally preferable, and a new governor would hopefully appoint
some better regents????? I also think that rural programs in general suffer when
governed from urban centers.”
Conclusion
What we observed was a strong response by a substantial percentage of the
faculty concerning the presumed mismanagement or micro-management by the Board of
Regents. However, once this is accounted for, there was an indication and dedication to
meeting the three broad missions of SFA concerning teaching, research, and service.
Faculty on both sides repeatedly used these reasons for joining and not joining a system.
Both sides gave anecdotal evidence and both made unsubstantiated claims. The feelings
appear to be focused and strong on the side for joining a system with nearly as many
faculty citing management by the current board as a reason for joining as system as the
total number of responses for not joining a system. However, statements made by those
not wanting joining a system were well constructed and sincere and based on a strong
feeling of identity with SFASU as an independent institution. A few faculty noted
personal knowledge and experience, again on both sides. The faculty salary issue was
divided fairly evenly percentage wise between those who supported joining a system to
increase faculty salary and by those who indicated that they did not feel that joining a
system would substantially improve the current salary dilemma at SFA.